In order to provide surfaces of plastic moldings or metallic moldings with matt feeling (for example, suede-like soothing external appearance), suede-like covering coats are formed using paints or a sheet for moldings obtained by using paints.
For example, a suede-like sheet for molding is proposed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2-41243 which is obtained as follows. The matt paint which includes a bead pigment and an ionizing radiation curable resin vehicle is coated onto a base film having good moldability and cured.
However, since it is necessary to cure the ionized radiation curable resin composition by irradiation with an electron beam, etc. after the application thereof on a film, production steps for the sheet become complicated and the productivity is not satisfactory. Moreover, since a coating film of the sheet is made of a resin which is crosslinked using an electron beam, etc., the extensibility of the entire sheet is poor.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 59-202830 proposes an apparatus in which a molding is decorated while being engaged in injection molding using the sheet.
When the sheet disclosed in above-mention Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2-41243 and the apparatus proposed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 59-202830 are incorporated in an attempt to obtain a molding having a soft touch feeling on the surface, the following problem arises.
When attempts are made to adhere the sheet onto the surface of the molding having unevenness or curves, there is a risk of the sheet being cracked since the extensibility of the sheet is poor. In particular, it is difficult to easily give matt feeling and soft touch feeling to the molding in deep draw forming.
Furthermore, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 62-251111 proposes a method of producing a molding, comprising the steps of: previously placing a thermoplastic resin sheet in a mold; introducing a resin in the mold; and pressing the resin in the mold with a cope, thereby obtaining a molding having the thermoplastic resin sheet (decorating sheet) adhered to the surface thereof.
However, the molding obtained by the method proposed in Japanese Lain-Open Patent Publication No. 62-251111 does not produce matt feeling since its surface layer is formed only of the thermoplastic resin and minute unevenness is not formed on the surface. Also, touch feeling is rather stiff. Therefore, this production method cannot be used to produce products which require matt feeling or soft touch feeling to the human skin, e.g., interior of automobiles, housings, cases, etc.